...Let me play among the stars

I sincerely cannot explain my fascination with stars. Not the people that we call stars, but the real deal and the geometrical shape.
Every time I talk on the phone (usually with my mother, as those calls are really, really long), I have piece of paper and a pen and doodle stars and hearts. Maybe it's the child in me, never wanting to grow up, attracted to all things cute, shiny and pretty.
So, when I got a baking magazine and found a recipe for star shaped cakes, that day, my world was complete.
The recipe is adapted from 'Baked & Delicious'.
If you don't have little star shapes, you can always make cupcakes :)

Espresso flavored star-spangled bites

Ingredients for the sponges

50g unsalted butter at room temperature
100g caster sugar
125g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
95ml milk
2 tsp espresso (or any instant coffee granules)
2 tbsp hot water
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the buttercream

50g unsalted butter at room temperature
125g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp milk
a few drops vanilla essence

Equipment:

Star shaped silicone mini moulds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Put the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and beat to fine crumb consistency with electric whisk. Pour in half of the milk and beat until just combined.
Dissolve the coffee granules with 2 tbsp of hot water. Add the coffee, egg and vanilla to the remaining milk and whisk together. Pour this mixture into the batter and mix until smooth.
Use a teaspoon to fill the moulds. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the tops are springy to the touch.
There should be enough batter to make 36 stars.

For the buttercream, beat the butter with electric whisk until fluffy and light. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar, milk and vanilla essence. Beat until pale and creamy.

Cool the star-spangled bites on a wire rack for about 50-60 minutes and then spread or pipe some buttercream and decorate as you wish.

Bread pudding (Pudina tal-hobz)

In our house, sometimes, there's so much bread that we could feed a small army. However, since no hungry army ever showed up, we end up wasting the bread and it is a pity.
In these times when people go hungry even in first world countries, food wasting is not something to be proud of.
So, I have been looking at almost whole loaf of bread and thinking what to do. Then it dawned on me, bread pudding!
Usually, this pudding is eaten in winter, but trust me, after you pop it in the fridge it can be a real treat on a hot summer day.
Thanking my mother in law for the recipe, I'm sharing it with all of you who stop by.


Ingredients:


1 stale loaf of bread (or bread rolls, baguette, whatever makes up about 400 grams)
1 heaped cup of flour (plain or self-raising)
5 tbsp of sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
1 egg
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 heaped tbsp mixed spice
1 heaped tbsp cinnamon
handful of dried raisins
10-12 glacee cherries
about 2x5cm lemon, orange and mandarin peel, diced
handful of hazelnuts
10 dates, roughly chopped
4 tbsp candied peel
30 ml of brandy, whisky or bourbon (optional)
some butter for greasing the baking dish (if you're using non-stick dish, you can omit the butter)


Method:


Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Tear the bread into chunks and soak in plenty of water for 15 minutes.
Squeeze out as much water as you can and put the bread into a mixing bowl. Knead well with your hands, so there are no lumps. Add the rest of the ingredients (in no particular order) and mix well with a wooden spoon until you have the consistency of a lumpy porridge.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish, level the top with a spoon and loosely cover the dish with foil.
Bake for 40 minutes like that and then remove the foil and return to the oven for additional 15-20 minutes, so the top gets little crust.
Let it completely cool in the baking dish before serving.

Cherry brandy clafoutis (Long live new and old friendships!)

As most of my readers already know, I am quitee fond of cooking...and trying out new recipes. Over a year ago one of my cousins added me to a cooking group on a social network and I have been sharing my recipes and taking note of new ones. All this with people I have never met, and there's a beauty to it. We do tend to help each other with advice, come up with an idea for a quick snack and whatnot.


Just a couple of weeks ago, the administrator of that group contacted me to tell me that I've got a surprise. Oh boy, what a nice surprise that was! A lady that (again) I never met, decided to send me a gift of a cook book, just because. No reason, no catch. What a lovely sentiment!


I promised the lady and the rest of the group members that I will make something and share it with them, so the first thing of course, was dessert. I love me my sweet thingies.

Now the recipe.


To serve 4:


200-250 fresh cherries, stoned and halved
2 tbsp cherry brandy
75 grams plain flour
55 grams light muscovado sugar
250 ml semi-skimmed milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar to dust (optional)


Preheat the oven to 200C.
Divide the cherries equally among four 300ml ovenproof dishes, spreading them in an even layer. Drizzle the brandy over the cherries and set aside.
Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar.
In a jug, whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla, then whisk into the flour mixture to make smooth batter.
Divide the batter equally among the dishes, pouring slowly over the cherries.
Bake about 20 minutes or until lightly set and pale golden. 
Dust with icing sugar if you like and serve warm.

Salmon goujons

Just in case someone is wondering what on Earth goujons are, let me tell you, it is not something complicated. Goujons is just a posh word for breaded strips of chicken or fish. Not quite fish fingers, but something along the lines.

Lately, I've developed an appetite about salmon and I'm always on the lookout for new ways of preparing it. I mean come on, how many ways you can bake or grill it, eh? No, frying is out of question, I tried once and decided not to do that ever again. Salmon is oily enough as it is.

So, I won't drag you around the corners of my mind and the thoughts around, but I will give you the recipe.

Ingredients:

To serve 2 persons

2 boneless, skineless salmon fillets (about 6cm wide) 

Some plain floor for coating

1 egg, beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 generous handfuls of dry breadcrumbs

1 small handful of sesame seeds

1 small handful of pumpkin seeds

1 small handful of sunflower seeds

Some olive oil for greasing the dish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC

Set up a breading station by putting the flour on a shallow plate, then the beaten egg and the breadcrum mixture closest to the cooker.

Grease a baking dish with some olive oil.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the 3 kinds of seeds in a large dish and set aside.

Pat dry the salmon with a kitchen tissue, season with salt, pepper and lemon zest and cut 3 strips out of each fillet.

Roll the salmon strips into the flour, shake off excess. Then, dip into the beaten egg and at the end into the breadcrumb mixture. Place onto the baking dish and then continue with the rest of the strips.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, turning half way, until golden and crispy.

Note:

If you wish to add some more color, use 1 tsp of paprika into the bread mixture.

I used 'Panko' breadcrumbs that put the crunch in crunchy :)

Koftas with yoghurt dip

Koftas
Ingredients:

1 kilo minced beef (or you can use any mince of your choice, lamb, turkey, chicken)
10 eggs
10 tablespoons olive oil (or any oil you like)
10 tablespoons flour
half litre (500 ml) of water
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
salt and ground black pepper to taste
little finely chopped parsley
1-2 cloves of garlic (very finely chopped or pressed)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let them stand 10-15 minutes.
Drop tablespoons of the mixture in hot oil. 

Note: You can deep fry them or you can put about an inch of oil in a frying pan and turn them with the help of 2 forks.

You can adjust the quantities given these measurements. For example, out of 200 grams meat and the rest of ingredients reduced to scale, you get 12 koftas. 

Enjoy!

Yoghurt dip:

1 small tub (200 grams) Greek style yogurt
½ cucumber grated
1 clove pressed garlic
5-6 leaves of finely chopped mint
pinch of salt.

Mix together all ingredients and put in a bowl or individual bowls. 

Zucchini burgers

For 10 (small-ish) burgers you will need:

500 grams finely diced zucchini
2 tbsp olive oil
75 grams buffalo mozzarella
50 grams fresh breadcrumbs
2 cloves finely diced garlic
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 lightly beaten egg
some finely chopped parsley
50 grams grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
little flour for dusting

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Heat the oil and lightly fry the diced zucchini about 5 minutes. You need texture, so do not over-fry them. Set on several sheets of kitchen paper to absorb the oil.
Add the zucchini into a mixing bowl and add the buffalo mozzarella. Break with the back of a wooden spoon.
Add the breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon zest and stir to combine. At the end, add the lightly beaten egg, Parmesan and parsley and season with pepper and salt.
With damp hands shape small burgers, dust them with little flour on both sides and put on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Bake for about 10 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Chicken schnitzel with grilled vegetables and messy Caprese salad

Ingredients:

200g stale sourdough bread

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

6 sprigs thyme, leaves only

2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only

couple of chopped flat parsley leaves

Pinch of salt and some ground black pepper

2 chicken breast fillets

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk 

70g plain flour (seasoned with salt and pepper)

3-4 tbsp olive oil for frying

20g butter

Grilled vegetables:

1 medium aubergine (eggplant) thinly sliced

1 large zucchini sliced at angle

1 red capsicum

1 yellow capsicum 

For the Caprese salad:

Handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

3-4 bocconcini mozzarella

2-3 basil leaves, torn by hand, not chopped

dash of extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Method:

In a food processor put the stale bread torn in bite size pieces and add the grated Parmesan. Pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the herbs, season with little salt and black pepper and continue pulsing until you have nice, small breadcrumbs.

Take the filleted chicken breast, place on a chopping board in between 2 sheets of cling film and lightly pound with a meat mallet, to flatten it.

Place the seasoned flour on a flat plate. Whisk the egg and milk in a bowl with a fork and place the breadcrumbs mixture in a deeper dish.

Take a fillet, place in the flour and lightly coat on both sides. Shake the excess.

Nest, dip the fillet into the egg mixture, let it drain and then dip into the breadcrumb mix.

Fry on olive oil, about 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Just before the bottom side is done, reduce the heat, add the butter and let it brown.

Place the schnitzels on a plate lined with kitchen paper, to drain the excess oil.

For the grilled vegetables, arrange the sliced veggies into a bowl and add some salt and little olive oil. Let them stand until the griddle pan is getting heated.

Lightly brush the pan with some olive oil and arrange the vegetables on it. Grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side.

Caprese salad:

Mix the torn mozzarella and tomatoes in a bowl. Add some torn basil, a sash of extra virgin olive oil and little freshly ground black pepper. Toss lightly, so the mozzarella and tomatoes are nicely covered with the oil.